The most important factor in designing the right cleaner is to identify the main soil component(s) and select agents which optimize cleaning efficiency for those soils.
Most floor dirt and grime is removed with strong compositions having high alkaline (caustic) or high solvent content. Even strong chemicals often have to dwell 10-15 minutes to cut through the dirt and grime. During this period, settling followed by a reattachment of some of the dirt and grime will occur. When the floor is rinsed with water these redeposits especially on porous material, result in a marginally clean floor with a flat finish. So the process is repeated to gain the desired cleanliness and then most often followed by a coat of wax to establish the finish. Not only does this require a labor intensive three step process (at least), multiple applications of strong chemicals, damaging the floor thereby reducing its useful life. The strong chemicals require proper hazardous material handling, so the building owner incurs both recurring (labor and haz mat)) and non-recurring (shortened floor life) costs.
When the wash solution contacts a soiled surface, it is intended that it successfully removes the soil from the article. Such detergency (soil removal) is most commonly obtained from a source of alkalinity used in manufacturing the detergent.
In the cleaning of hard surfaces, the constituent materials of the surfaces to be cleaned and the nature and intensity of the soil have to be taken into account besides hygienic and aesthetic aspects. Hard surfaces include, for example, coverings of natural stones, tiles, such as fine stoneware tiles, and also elastic coverings, such as linoleum and PVC. In the institutional cleaning of hard surfaces, another factor to be taken into consideration is that the surfaces have different textures and, at the same time, different types of soil have to be removed, optionally with simultaneous disinfection depending on the particular application. For these reasons, various compositions have also been developed for this sector.
In practice, the choice of composition is largely determined by whether the composition performs the cleaning function on the various materials in a short time without harming them, irrespective of the type of soil. For economic reasons, machines are used for this purpose in institutional cleaning. Vacuum scrubbing machines (automatic cleaners) and scrubbing machines (single-disk or contr-arotating multiple-disk machines or brush cylinder machines) are generally used for cleaning floors. In the latter case, the cleaning composition is removed by suction in a second operation carried out with a so-called wet vacuum cleaner.
In the cleaning of floors with rough surfaces, the dirt settles very quickly on such floors because of their large surface. If cleaning compositions only are used, the surfaces become heavily soiled after only a very short time. In order to delay the redeposition of soil, cleaning is generally carried out in two steps, namely the cleaning step as such and subsequent surface protection of the floor covering. Products which contain both cleaning and floor care ingredients do not show adequate cleaning performance so that there is a continuous buildup of dirt.
A substantial need exists in improving the properties of alkali detergent systems. In improving such systems, the cleaning properties of the systems are examined for the purpose of obtaining sufficient cleaning of all types of soils including inorganic soils, food soils such as fats, carbohydrates and proteins and organic soils obtained from the environment such as hydrocarbon oils, pigments, and carbonized soil from food sources that have been attached to food cooking surfaces and other adjacent surfaces in food preparation areas. Typically, this soil attaches itself when temperatures rise above 150° F. causing the soil to become “baked on” and carbonized. Another type “soil” which is difficult to clean from hard floor surfaces are scuff marks and heel marks caused by foot traffic.
Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to improve conventional alkali hard floor liquid cleaning compositions and, at the same time, to develop cleaning compositions for hard surfaces, particularly for the institutional sector, which would show good cleaning performance and, at the same time, would preserve the surface so that cleaning could be carried out in a single, safe operation.